


Salt and Earth

by EverTheRenegade



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Universe, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, post 6x10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 10:42:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20006995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverTheRenegade/pseuds/EverTheRenegade
Summary: Clarke wakes up after killing Josephine but can't remember how they pulled it off.orBellamy won't tell Clarke how her got her back.





	Salt and Earth

**Author's Note:**

> Another little one-off that I had to put into words as soon as the thought crossed my mind, hope you enjoy.

The first thing she notices is the taste of salt and earth on her lips. Her eyes flutter open as she struggles to catch her breath, a blurred face hovering inches from her slowly coming into focus.  
She hears her name, and it’s the same voice that’s been echoing in her head all this time.  
Big brown eyes, wide, red rimmed with tears, a spark of hope as they search her face.  
_Bellamy_  
It's like remembering a dream, and it takes a second to figure out how she got here. It takes another second for the pieces to fall into place—he wouldn’t let her die, he saved her somehow— and she is throwing her arms around his neck, her own eyes filling with tears. 

When she wakes next, she's gasping for air again.  
Bellamy’s voice is there again to break through the fog, murmuring reassurances at her, his fingers rubbing her leg soothingly.  
She finds his eyes and he finds her hand, pulling her up as she shakes the last of the grogginess from her head. She winces as she sits, her fingers trailing gently over the tender bruise blooming across her ribcage.  
Bellamy’s eyes well and he looks away, she pulls her shirt back down to cover it up.  
He won’t talk about it, and she won’t pry. She thinks it might be better that she doesn’t know what he was going through while she was having her throat slit in the mindspace. She knows he will talk when he’s ready.  
Now it’s her turn to rub soothing circles into his hand.

When she stirs into consciousness in the middle of the night, she is paralyzed with fear until her eyes adjust to the familiar surroundings of the tent, and she can push out a steadying breath.  
She hears it then, the noise that woke her, soft whimpering at the foot of her bed. Sitting up slowly she finds Bellamy in the dark, slumped into the corner where he must have dozed off while trying to watch over her. His hand is curved around her calf, keeping in contact even in their sleep to remind each other that they're still here, they’re okay.  
She reaches out, brushing matted curls off of his forehead and the furrow between his brow slowly disappears. His breathing shifts, then so does his body as he wakes up. As he realizes where he is, his head snaps to the side, his expression softening when his eyes find hers, hand squeezing her leg.  
She chews her lip, debating, then crawls over to nestle against his side. They can sleep without worrying this way, pressed together with no hope of disappearing without the other noticing. As she drifts back into sleep, she feels the soft press of lips against her temple, the faint scent of salt and earth. Something about it pricks at her memory, but sleep drags her under before she can figure it out.

For the first time in days, the exhaustion doesn't pull her into sleep by force. There are nerves ticking under her skin as she thinks about walking back into Sanctum, seeing the faces of the people who took her, who _killed_ her. She shudders, and of course Bellamy is there, hovering over her in an instant.  
He searches her eyes, seeming to understand that she wasn't sleeping, and sits at the edge of the bed. His hand rests on her thigh absentmindedly -- at this point it's rare that they aren't touching in some way -- rubbing gently as she watches him work through his thoughts. He opens his mouth once or twice, but doesn't speak, not yet.  
She takes a deep breath, willing herself to begin the conversation before it was too late. Again.  
"Bellamy, I'm scared." she whispers, and his eyes are on her immediately, soft and concerned. She feels his fingers twitch against her, wanting to reach out, but he doesn't. He's fidgeting, quietly trying to postpone this talk.  
Finally, he huffs, and his voice is soft but strong, "I won't let anything happen to you. I'm not going to lose you again."  
His words strike something deep within her and she tenses, not quite sure what. She sits up then, eyes flickering around the room as she tries to recall… _something_ , something behind a heavy veil of fog. Turning to look at him, his brows furrowed, he finally reaches out to her, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and there it is again. Salt and earth, and her eyes widen, searching his face as he tries to understand what is happening.  
It echoes in her head.  
_I'm not losing you again…Clarke, I need you, Madi needs you…_  
She gasps, grabbing Bellamy's wrist and holding his hand to her cheek.  
_I'm not letting you go… get up and fight!_  
Her free hand moves to her ribs, the bruise still tender, and she seems Bellamy's eyes glance down.  
"Bellamy" she breathes, and he finds her eyes again, "Bellamy I remember… I… you, you saved me?" It’s a question, her hand floating up from her ribs to touch her fingers to her lips, the last pieces falling into place.  
His eyes go wide then, terror and guilt and sorrow all rolled into one expression, as he realizes what she means. He opens his mouth to speak again, hesitating as his hand hovers near her ribs.  
"Clarke… I'm so sorry" he winces, his hand clenching and pulling away, "I couldn't bear to think… I was falling apart." His voice breaks then and he shakes his head, casting his eyes away.  
She turns her head into the hand she is still holding up against her face, inhaling, a smile flitting across her lips before she presses them to his palm and he stills.  
She had woken with the taste of Bellamy on her lips, his scent engulfing her as he fought to keep her heart beating, he saved her life, and he was ashamed?  
"I didn’t mean to hurt you" his voice is almost inaudible, "I couldn't lose you, I can't lose you. I need you."  
"The head and the heart." She says, reaching to turn his face back to hers. She searches his eyes for a moment, the smallest hint of a smile tugging at their corners, and she continues, "Bellamy, you are my heart."  
He makes a choking sound, disbelief, and finally he lets the tears well over, pulling her into him. She breathes him in, greedy, clutching at his back until his shoulders stop shaking.  
He takes a deep breath and pulls back, resting their foreheads together, and she smiles.  
"I'm not going anywhere," she whispers, tilting up to catch his lips in hers, knowing with unwavering certainty that they were going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been obsessed with these two recently, so hopefully there will be more of these to come! Thanks for reading!


End file.
